


Cedarwood Road

by i_dreamthedream



Series: Songs of Innocence [3]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bromance, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Fluff, Gen, prank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 05:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7963642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_dreamthedream/pseuds/i_dreamthedream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thursday nights are usually quiet at Harry and Kitty's restaurant. But what happens when Malarkey, Guarnere, Buck and Perco decided to prank Talbert with Skip's help? </p>
<p>Meanwhile Doc is trying not to ruin his first date with Renée...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cedarwood Road

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I haven't updated this serie in ages because I was writting on an Hamilton multichap' and now that it's done, TA-DAM!   
> Enjoy your favorite boys being their usual self :)

Thursday nights were always slow at the restaurant and for that, Skip was forever grateful. He liked rush hour as much as the next guy but he also liked not feeling like he’d run a marathon at the end of a shift. So he liked Thursday for that. Well for that and for the fact that it was always on this day Tab took girls out on a date.

Floyd Talbert was a young and handsome cop with a boyish charm and a natural talent at flirting. Skip had seen it at work on several occasions – read on almost every Thursday night for the last year – and he had to admit the man was smooth. The girls were always different, blondes, brunettes or redheads… Skip had never seen Tab let himself get attached to either one of them, enjoying the chase more than the charm and difficulties of routine and domesticity. _He doesn’t know what he’s missing,_ Skip thought. He loved knowing Faye was waiting for him at the end of the day, he loved seeing their toothbrushes next to each other in the bathroom, he loved when she lectured him over women’s rights and how he needed to be careful with his jokes. He always listened. Now he surprised himself by doing feminist jokes that never failed to make Kitty laughed. Faye made him a better version of himself.

He went to give Tab and his date their drinks and took the order of Doc Roe and Renée that were sitting two tables away. It was the first time the two of them were going out that Skip was aware of but he made no comment. He probably would’ve if it were anyone else of their group but Roe looked nervous enough. He made a mental note to share that news with Don, Perco and Luz later. The Doc wouldn’t escape a proper teasing session and he would be forced to spill out all the juicy details.

Speaking of his comrades in crime, he noticed that Malarkey, Buck, Bill and Perconte were sharing the back table and had a look on their faces that meant trouble. He knew that look well because he usually wore it. Not wanting to be left out of whatever they were plotting, he quickly made his way there.

“Gentlemen,” he greeted them, grinning. “Good evening!”

He was greeted by variations of “Hey Muck!”

“What can I do for you?” he smirked.

Malark immediately understood what he meant. When it came to prank, those two rarely needed to use words to be in synch. Don knew the spark of mischief in his friend’s eyes. It was his favorite expression on his face. He actually counted on it, because for this to succeed, they would need Skip’s help.

“You see this fine gentleman over there?” he asked.

“Tab?” Muck raised an eyebrow. “Yeah so?”

“He’s always using the tough guy card when he picks them up,” Buck said. “I’ve seen it, you know the whole ‘I arrest bad guys for a living’ routine and it always seems to work. Until now,” the prosecutor smirked. Compton may have looked respectable for an outside observer but his friends knew better. He loved playing games – poker nights at his place were kind of a legend – and he loved teasing as much as Luz!

“And how are you planning to ruin his date?” Judgment was totally absent from Skip’s voice. He just sounded genuinely curious and also a tiny bit excited. His Thursday night had just gotten fairly more interesting.

 

¢

 

Eugene had the heebie-jeebies, there was no other way to put it. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. _For God’s sakes,_ he was a doctor! He had survived med school! He had been calmed and composed throughout all his exams, had never panicked during his residency, not even during the hardest ER shifts. But one look across the table and he was paralyzed. Renée was different from any other person he had ever met. She was the kindest soul he knew without being naïve. She’d seen her fair share of horror during her two years in the army as a medic but that didn’t make her cynical. She was extraordinary.

He didn’t know why she’d agreed to go on a date with him. He wasn’t particularly good looking in his opinion, too pale with dark circles under his eyes more often than not. His wildest hobby was reading about the old legends of Louisiana and trying the super spicy recipes from his grandma. He was quiet, not like some of his friends. He liked to keep to himself.

It was a miracle really that he had managed the guts to ask her out. Well to be honest it had taken a lot of spluttering and blushing and he was pretty sure he didn’t actually pronounce the word ‘date’. But she still said yes so that was what mattered in the end right?

He had feared it would be awkward but despite his nerves it wasn’t. They had no problem finding something to talk about. And when they weren’t talking, the silence didn’t feel heavy. Instead it felt peaceful, comfortable. Renée was smiling, they were enjoying Harry’s delicious food and Gene let himself slightly relax.

Of course that’s when it all went to shit.

Two tables from them, someone shrieked, “What the _fuck?!”_

Roe turned his head to see Floyd (had he been here this whole time?), who had spilled some wine on the tablecloth and on his shirt, standing a good two feet away from the table and looking as if he’d seen a ghost. The girl in front of him seemed torn between amused and disbelieving.

“What’s the matter Tab?” Warren asked way too sweetly for him to be innocent. Judging by the way he glared at him, Talbert knew that just as well.

The girl picked up something on the table and held it to Floyd.

“Is this the problem?” she said. “It’s not a real spider, it’s plastic!”

And that explained it. Gene knew that Talbert was suffering from arachnophobia. He had confessed the problem in consultation once and the doc had recommended him a specialist. That fact was a running joke among their group of friends. The great Floyd Talbert who had once led an assault on an armed robbery would nearly faint at the view of a spider.

From another table, Eugene could hear whizzes of laughter that could only come from Perconte. He squinted and _of course!_ He should’ve known Muck wouldn’t have plotted that on his own. The four men at the table were holding their sides from how much they were laughing.

 

¢

 

It occurred to Frank he should be worried that Tab was rushing to their table with a murderous look on his face. The guy was a cop after all. He could probably kill them and get away with it. Well that was an exaggeration. But he could definitely cause them physical pain. For some reason though, he couldn’t bring himself to care. That had been so worth it.

He wasn’t sure what exactly Tab had yelled at them but when he was done, his face was red and Frank was honestly surprised there weren’t any smoke coming out of his ears. He started to come back to his table to see his date had left. He groaned, sat next to Guarnere and ordered a beer.

“You’re paying,” he warned them.

¢

 

Gene was standing in front of Renée’s apartment building and didn’t know what to do. He was embarrassed by the way things had turned out at the restaurant. Renée had seen enough of his friends to put two and two together. What if she thought it was a set-up? What if she never wanted to see him again? And so there he was panicking again.

“I’m sorry about the whole spider thing,” he mumbled. “I swear those guys are actually five years old.”

Renée chuckled. “I’ve seen worse.”

Roe nodded and put his head down. So what now?

“Eugene,” she said gently. He looked up to meet her eyes. “I had a good time.” She took a step closer, “and since you don’t seem decided to do it…”

And suddenly her mouth was on his. She tasted like the white wine she’d sipped during dinner. His lips must have been a bit chapped but she didn’t seem to mind.

The kiss was brief, chaste, tender and utterly perfect. When they parted, Roe was grinning like an idiot. They were standing closer now, a strand of her hair was caressing his face. He was in Heaven. He dived back in, keeping it sweet and she kissed him back. He could feel her smiling against his lips.

“I have something to ask you,” he whispered between kisses.

She hummed in acknowledgment.

“Will you come with me to a wedding next month?”

“Are you asking me on a date Doc?” and her tone was playful, daring.

“Yes!” he answered firmly, making sure to be understood this time. “But I’d like to go out again before that it’s just…”

She cut him out with another peck and he found he didn’t really want to talk. Eventually she drew back with a sight.

“As much as I would like to keep doing this,” she said. “We should probably stop for tonight.” Eugene nodded.

“Call me?” he asked.

_“Peut-être,”_ she responded teasingly. Gosh that wasn’t even his ringtone! Malarkey had changed it without him knowing and now nobody would let that go! Well, he would valiantly go through her teasing if it meant he could have another date. She got inside the building and waved at him before disappearing.

And when he walked home, Eugene felt butterflies invading his stomach in a way that was way more enjoyable than the jitters. _I like Thursday,_ he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think in comments and come see me on Tumblr! @i-dreamthedream


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